It is commonly known that all Human Beings have needs. Daft (2008) defines needs as things that individuals want and work for to achieve. Kotler (2005) points out that an unsatisfied need creates tension which kindle the desire to achieve an outcome that seems to be attractive.
Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory shows that there is a huge gap between the things that create dissatisfaction and the things that pertain satisfaction (Daft 2008). Furthermore, Herzberg found that satisfaction is not the opposite of dissatisfaction, but "no satisfaction" (Kotler, 2005). The Hygiene Factors are things that are expected by a human being and influence the level of dissatisfaction. If those factors are poor or absent, a human being is dissatisfied (Herzberg 1968 in Mead 2005). If those factors are good, on the other hand, they remove the dissatisfaction but do not create satisfaction. The Motivators however, create satisfaction if they are good, but do not create dissatisfaction when they are poor. The level that lies between the Hygiene Factors and the Motivators creates neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction (Herzberg 1968 in Daft 2008). Applied to the Tourism Industry Hygiene Factors could be a safe environment, a clean Hotel room, friendly staff etc., whereas Motivators could be an unexpected upgrade, free wireless lan and over average security and safety precautions.
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Abraham H. Maslow first published his Theory of Needs in 1954. He points out that there are multiple needs that motivate human beings and they exist in a hierarchical order, from the least to the most pressing (Kotler et. al, 2006). He categorized needs in five categories which are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Those needs act as motivators in order to drive humans (Eckermann).
The physiological needs include the needs for food, water, rest and oxygen (Daft 2008) whereas the safety needs represents the need for security in the physical and emotional environment, protection from physical and emotional harm as well as the freedom from threats (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2005).
Social needs, however, are the needs for giving and receiving love, belong somewhere, and get affection. Daft (2008) adds that people need to be accepted by others, have friendships and relationships, and to be part of a group.
Furthermore, the Esteems needs, which are also called as "Ego Needs", include self-respect and the esteem from others. Additionally, there is need for attention, a positive self-image, recognition and appreciation from others (Daft 2005).
The need for Self-Actualization is the need for achieving challenging tasks and to be creative (Halepota, Eckermann ). A human desires to develop its full potential, increase competence, and to become and be a better person (Daft 2008).
Cartwright (2000) suggests a sixth need level which he calls the "unattainable". It is an unreachable needs that individuals strive for but can never reach and therefore, they can never be fully and entirely satisfied (in Mead 2005).
The lower level needs are called biogenetic needs (Schiffmann and Kanuk) or as Mead (2005) calls them the basic needs or deficiency needs (Daft 2008). Those needs are satisfied through external factors such as food, money, and praise from others. They are comparable with the Hiygiene Factors of Herzberg's Theory.
The higher-level needs are the psychogenic (Schiffmann and Kanuk) or ego and self-actualization needs (Mead 2005) which are, unlike the basic needs, satisfied by internal outcomes e.g. sense of achievement and competence.
Robbins and DeCenzo (2005) have pointed out that each level has to be satisfied before an individual moves up to the next level and another needs becomes relevant. If one need is satisfied, it is no longer motivating and needs are satisfied progressively (Mead 2005).
Since for this work, mainly the safety needs are of relevance, the author will mainly emphasize on only those needs. However, also the physiological needs for shelter are important to consider. The Tourism Industry has to be very familiar with and understand those needs thoroughly. Fulfilling the biogenetic needs of customers will give the company a competitive advantage, since fulfilling those "basic" needs will motivate the consumer to strive for higher needs (psychogenic needs) and thus satisfy them more. Therefore, the Tourism Industry has to provide a safe environment for their tourists.
Equity Theory ??? Daft
Hofstede
Culture Definition
Hofstede (1984)cited in Mead (2005): 'Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another…. Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture (p. 8).' Out of this definition it can be concluded that culture is learned, and passed on from generation to generation, first from parents and families and then by institutions and members, and includes systems of values. According to Hofstede (1984) in Mead (2005) values are assumptions about how members within a culture group should behave. Those values are more intensively learned in young age as children learn more unconsciously and therefore, the learned values are deep-rooted. Furthermore, Mead (2005) points out that each social group has its unique culture that is different from the culture of other social groups, and they respond differently to similar situations. Furthermore, different culture groups have conflicting and different expectations from their environment.
Several Culture Models have been established over the years, e.g. the Kluckholm and Strotbeck Model in 1961 in Mead (2005), where they compared different cultures on the basis of the different orientations they have. The model of Hall (1976) in Mead (2005) distinguishes between low-context cultures that emphasizes on the verbal way of communicating and whose members need rather facts than interpretations and non-verbal communication such as in high-context cultures. Due to space limitations, in this work however, it will only be focused on Hofstede's Model as it fits the best for this topic because it includes the dimension of uncertainty avoidance which can be applied best to the needs for safety and security.
The Hofstede Model has five Dimensions with which it distinguishes cultures. Those five Dimensions are Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Feminity, and Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation (Hofstede 2001).
Power Distance is the distance between individuals from one level of the hierarchy to the other and the extent to which individuals accept or tolerate that power is not distributed equally. In cultures where the power distance is high, there is a big gap e.g. between a manager and his employees, and everybody knows their role and accepts it. In a low power distance culture, however, …
Uncertainty avoidance represent the need to avoid uncertainties in the future or to be risk-taking. Cultures in which the need for uncertainty avoidance is high, are more anxious about the future, stabilize greater relationships and put a lot of energy into making plans for the future. In culture where the need for uncertainty avoidance is low, however, individuals are more willing to take risks and to change.
Individualism versus collectivism shows if individuals have deep relationships with each other or rather not have emotional connections with others. In individualist cultures the individual identity is stressed and competition is expected. In collectivist cultures, on the other side, the group interest is more important that the individual interest and individuals are very loyal to group members.
Masculinity versus Femininity is how the roles and values in a society are divided. In masculine cultures there is a big difference between sex roles. Those cultures are very competitive and career oriented. In feminine cultures, however, relationships and human contacts are very important.
Long-term versus short-term orientation represents a temporal orientation towards life. Long-term oriented cultures value persistence and relationships are clearly ordered according to the status of individuals. Short-term oriented cultures value personal steadiness and stability, respect tradition, and exchange greetings, favors, and gifts.
Diagram
Perception of risks
Perception
Sirgy (1982) defines perception as 'the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world' (in Kotler et. al, p. 213). Human Beings collect information through the five senses which are sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. People act differently based on their perception due to the fact that each person receives, organizes, and then interprets the incoming information in an individual way. That different people have different perceptions of the same object, situation etc., is because of the three perceptual processes.
Selective Attention means that due to the massive amount of stimuli a person is exposed to every day, some stimuli will simply been screened out. Therefore, managers have to make their products noticeable to the consumers, by relating a stimuli to the current need, create stimuli that consumers anticipate, and establish high deviations compared to the normal size of the stimuli.
Selective Distortion is the twisting of information into personal meaning so that it fits the preconceptions.
Selective Retention happens when people only retain information that reinforce ones attitudes and beliefs and forget the rest (Kotler et. al, 2006).
Glaesser (2003) defines risk as the term 'expected damage'. It is calculated by the size of the damage times the probability that something will occur. If the tourist receives as risk as too much that it exceeds the tolerance level, the consumer will use risk reduction techniques (Kreilkamp, 1998; in Glaesser). This tolerance level is determined by the degree of credibility appearance of the tourism organization, the speed of its actions as well as the number of times a negative event occurred repetitiously (Kroeber-Riel, 1992; in Glaesser, 2003). It also has to be taken in account, that personal factors highly influence perception, which leads to a subjective risk assessment which includes quantitative risk factors, qualitative risk factors, and individual risk factors (Jungermann, 1991; in Glaesser, 2003). Quantitative risk factors influence a person's perception and increases if a negative event that has occurred in the past is remembered or can be imagined?????
Differences
Although these two factors are very important by talking about risk perception, the author will focus only on the individual risk factors, as those are more relevant for the work. Several personal determinants influence a person's perception such as age, gender, and education. The WTO (1994) states that female tourists have a higher risk perceptions than men. Young tourists between 18 and 24 years of age, however, perceive risk while travelling as less than older tourists (in Glaesser, 2003).
Another important factor that has to be considered is the cultural aspect. Tourists from different cultural backgrounds have different risk perceptions, which could be explained due to different social, behavioral and development forms (Kemp, 1993; Sönmez and Graefe, 1998; in Glaesser, 2003).
Hofstede !!!!!!
Gee and Gain (1986) point out that tourists perceive risk more if a negative incident in the past has coincidentally affected someone out of their own culture/country.
Furthermore, it has to be mentioned that terrorism in general does not lead to a decline in tourism demand. If the terrorism attacks, however, are directed direcly against tourists that lead to injuries and deaths, they would choose another destination (Wilkinson, 1993; Sönmez, 1998; in Glaesser, 2003).
Usually higher than the real risk/danger that exists (Brayshaw)
Risk Perception is usually not logical, because it is influenced through the media. (Santana) Amateur videos or colorful pictures.
Higher change of being violated or having an accident at home than during the holiday/vacation. (Santana)
Spill-over effect: association of one incident with the whole region or country (Santana)
Tourism industry: Sectors within are interrelated and dependent (transportation, exchange rates, political and social structure, weather, etc. If one varies or changes negatively, it affects the others. (Santana)
Since tourism destinations heavily depend on tourists, they have to address the heavily fluctuating demand that arises due to the changing perception of the riskiness of the destination (Meheux & Parker, 2006). Destinations that are perceived as a threat to their safety or well-being of the travelers, will be avoided (Beirman, 2003). Holden (2008) stresses this further by saying that perceived risks can be so powerful that tourists would even prevent going to a destination and choosing another destination instead that appears to be more pleasant and safe (Henderson, 2007). Timothy (2006) points out an exception by saying that some tourists deliberately travel to risky destinations out of curiosity. Furthermore, it is said that most tourists are not primarily concerned with being caught in a disaster, especially if a long time has passed since the last disaster or incident.
Summing up, it can be said that tourists are prepared and willing to accept a certain amount of risk. However, if the risk perception exceeds the tolerance level, the destination will be substituted.
RM
According to van Waldbeck „[r]isk assessment is a key stage in planning for crisis, involving the anticipation of what might go wrong and identification of the reasons for divergences from expectations (2005 cited in Henderson, 2007: p. 3)."
As a tool, marketers can continuously promote the safety in risky destinations, as this can make the tourist neglecting the threat (Henderson, 2007). Hudson (2008) suggests a hurricane guarantee that allows the tourists to rebook their vacation. Huan et. al (2004) on the other side argue that instead of building confidence, stressing the safety of a destination and safety plans have a negative impact on the tourist's image of a destination and could negatively impact the buying decision. Concerning the question, how big the time span between an incident and a restart of marketing the destination, the WTO & WMO (1998) suggest that this decision has to be made responsively concerning the safety instead of the profit-making (in Henderson, 2007).
Definition of Crisis
. (Glaesser)
Definition of Crisis Management
Crisis Management includes changes of tasks as response to a crisis. (Glaesser)
When thinking of Tourism, one most commonly thinks of enjoyment, relaxation, and safety. On the other side, however, disasters bring about fear, stress, anxiety, trauma, and panic (Santana, 2003). Those two sides go hand in hand because crisis have always been and always will be part of tourism operations. Thus, it affects all parties that are part of the Tourism System e.g. the tourist, destination, communities, tourism companies, regulators, promoters (Santana, 2003).
Faulkner defines a disaster as " […] where an enterprise is confronted with sudden unpredictable catastrophic changes over which it has little control'' (Faulkner, 2001: p. 136, cited in Ritchie, 2004).
According to Glaesser (2003) , a crisis is an unusual and unwanted situation that demands an immediate response due to it seriousness.
Differences between disasters and crisis
Crisis describes a situation where the root cause of the event lies internal of an organization and is due to unskilled or ineffective management practices and the inability or unwillingness to adapt to an ongoing change (Faulkner, 2001). E.g. Chernobyl,
A crisis could be to some extent prevented, but standard procedures often redefine the abnormal as normal and therefore, not adapt to change (Booth, 1993). A crisis, however, can also bring positive things as it acts as a 'turning point for better or for worse' (Fink, 1986, in Faulkner, 2001). Pos. outcomes: innovation, recognition of new markets), 'totally new and more effective configuration might emerge'. (Chaos Theory)
A disaster on the other side is a situation or event that is unpredictable and over which organizations or enterprises has little control (Faulkner, 2001). E.g. eathquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. Unfortunately, some warning signals of disasters that are about to happen are ignored -> leave communities unprepared (Faulkner, 2001).
Burton et al. (1978) in Faulkner (2001): 'To sum up, the global toll of natural disaster rises at least as fast as the increase in population and material wealth, and probably faster.'
'We live in an increasingly complex world and this has contributed to making us more crisis or disaster prone (Richardson, 1994)'
Daft (2008) points out that an organization is confronted with small crises on a daily basis such as data loss, a fire etc. Bigger crises of intentional evil such as bombings and kidnappings, or natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes continue to increase.
Henderson (2007) states that disasters such as storms, floods, and droughts, will increase in its frequency due to extreme weather conditions, because of the ongoing climate change.
This statement is supported by EM-DAT's (2010) natural disaster trend which shows clearly that disasters have occurred more frequently since the beginning of 1900. This let's assume, that disasters will even increase more in the future. Graphic EM-DAT
Community responses to crisis include the shock state, where individuals feel helpless and disoriented; the denial and defensive retreat (to reach back to already established safety solutions or to go somewhere else); the acknowledgement state whereby the change is accepted; and the adaption stage in which the community copes with the crisis and learns from it for the future. (Arnold, 1980, in Booth, 1993, in Faulkner, 2001)
Degree to which companies work together and break down institutional barriers !!!! (because of inadequate resources -> collaboration; has to be planned before (Granot, 1997))
Fig Faulkner crisis and disasters
Although there is no generally accepted definition of crisis management in the literature (Santana, 2003), it can be said that in order to respond to a crisis, organizations have to take actions accordingly by changing their tasks and processes (Glaesser, 2003). Since it can never be known in advance if and what type of crisis will occur, Organizations have to be prepared through planning for the worst case. According to Santana, this should be done through proper advance planning and establishing frameworks, because only then it is possible to cope with uncertainties. Brownwell (1990) stresses that there is even a bigger need for a good crisis management in the tourism industry since 'it is one of the most vulnerable industries'.
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Fink (1986): the media plays an important role during the disaster management strategies and it has the power 'make the difference between whether or not a difficult situation evolves into a disaster (Fink, 1986). The media can be very useful by informing the community about warnings and to provide information during the recovery stage. However, the media often spreads false information and thus, can hinder the emergency operations by distracting the emergency personnel.
In addition, the media also exaggerates in order to create panic and bring people to spend money e.g. in the form of panic buys before a possible hurricane. Due to the exaggeration and rumors of the media, the impact of a disaster in the tourism industry on the market has an unproportional impact to the actual natural disruptive effect (Cassedy, 1991; Murphy & Bayley, 1989; Drabek, 1992).
Drabek (1995) analyzed that tourists and tourist destinations in general are more vulnerable to disaster than other people/industries/etc. A reason for this could be that the most appealing and popular tourist destinations are tropical places where hurricanes, avalanches or volcanic eruptions are usual (Murphey and Bayley 1989). Since common targets for terrorists, such as embassies, are made less attractive due to increased safety measure, tourists became the new targets (Lehrman, 1986). Furthermore, during a disaster, tourists are always more independent and vulnerable than the community, as they are not as familiar with the local dangers (Burby and Wagner 1996). Cassedy (1991) states that only a few companies have actual disaster emergency plans in their business plans, and in case they do so it is just made for one type of hazard (Drabek, 1995). In general, one can say that the bigger tourism enterprises are better prepared than smaller enterprises (Faulkner).
According to Beirman (2003), the principles of Crisis Management are coordination, collaboration, communication, and commitment. Those principles are a good attempt, however, they are not sufficient, as during an unpredictable disaster there is no time for …
Stages Faulkner
Preparation
Kotler et. al (2006) state that if there are precautions in place, negative events can be diminished or prevented from occurring. Therefore, possible crisis that have a chance of occurring should be determined and develop plans and worst case scenarios. These plans have to be communicated to all employees so that everybody knows their tasks and expected behavior in case of emergency.
cascaded strategic priority profile'(CSPP) (Heath, 1995, in Faulkner, 2001)
Questionable, because an organization's usual activities and policies are not applicable during the situation of a crisis. (Huque, 1998, in Faulkner, 2001) e.g. companies with high chain of command would have a too long response rate but need to react much faster in crisis situations. Other restrictions are bureaucratic structures and low empowerment.
Other problems: communication failures, lack of available resources (Heath, 1995, in Faulkner, 2001)
Kotler et. al (2006) suggest that a good crisis management focuses more on the communication and less on the crisis. During training sessions, managers should be asked a set of possible challenging questions that they may have to answer by guests or the media.
Prevention
It is very important to implement early and warning systems, and thus, create awareness in the tourist's mind of potential danger. Ritchie argues that more importance should be given to reduction and readiness than to response and recovery, and 'tourists rely on the Tour Operator to provide them with the necessary information' (which is very important as tourists do not have the knowledge about hazard issues, as they are in an unfamiliar place (Johnston et. al (2007 $). Therefore, a proactive management is necessary, in order to provide the tourists beforehand with the necessary information and precautions (Henderson, 2007), so that tourists know the dangers that exists and adjust their behaviors accordingly ( Ritchie & Crouch, 1997; in Glaesser, 2003).
It is not possible to eliminate every danger or threat; this is especially the case with natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis or hurricanes. Coburn (1992), however, states that the destruction can be diminished by building hotels etc. in a more solid way which make them more resistant but also require a higher investment.
Warning Signals
Warning signals could be of any kind. Kotler et. al (2006) suggests that customer complaints, or strangers that walk around the property should be reported by employees to the security in order to prevent risks and crimes. Furthermore, in the internet a manager can read in chats or forums what former customers say and think about their property and thus, erase the failures.
Damage Limitation
As mentioned above, communication is very important for a good crisis management. It can also reduce the negative publicity, if there is a good communication with the press in place (Kotler et. al 2006). A spokesperson should be chosen who should communicate the facts to the media, give timely updates, and thus keep the press updated. It is pointed out, that by talking to the media, the spokesperson or manager should never use the term "no comment" as it creates suspicion. According to Daft (2008), leaders should develop four communication skills. First of all, they need to stay calm and listen harder, by absorbing people's fears and uncertainties. They should give comfort, inspiration, and hope by showing optimism. Secondly, they should be visible in order to show that someone is in control. They need to step out immediately and respond to followers and public concerns. Furthermore, it is very important that the spokesperson always tells the truth and, thus, only communicates facts. As a result of this, rumors will be reduced as well. Last but not least, a vision for the future has to be communicated so that people do not lose hope, keep going and the rebuilding process is faster.
Recovery stage
In order for a destination to recover, appropriate equipment, time and monetary strength is needed. Especially during natural catastrophes, a region is unable to help itself, and therefore, needs interregional or international help and assistance in form of machinery and donations (Glaesser, 2006).
Furthermore, it has to be decided who has to invest financially in rebuilding the destinations additionally to the donations. In some cases, the government pays and burdens the expenses in form of taxes on the community, stakeholders are made responsible, the insurance, or the suppliers of the tourism industry. (?)
Another question is, what will be restored first. Most stakeholders demand that they are helped first, however, it is more important to rebuild the infrastructure first and this will benefit the community and the tourism industry, and thus, generate revenue which will be needed again for further reparations (Faulkner and Vikulov, 2001; Huang and Min, 2002, in Sharpley, R. 2005).
The time a destination needs in order to recover and bring services back to normal depends on how well the market communication had been integrated (Faulkner, 2001) but is always influenced by the interest of the stakeholder concerning the speed of the recreation, the character of a destination, and how sever the devastation is.
Learning Stage
To sum up, by having a proper Crisis/ Disaster Management System in place, many hazards could either be avoided or minimize their impacts (Faulkner, 2001).
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